💿 Hi, it’s a pleasure for us to have on Hardrockheavymetal VIIXEN, new singer of THUNDERSTICK! Welcome!

Hi there, it’s a pleasure to be here!

💿 Can you tell us somethin’about your early days of your passion for music? When is this all begun? Which bands have influenced you?

I grew up in the 1980’s in the small Shropshire town of Ludlow. I was quite isolated from Hard Rock and Metal; it didn’t get to Ludlow until I was much older.

The first album I owned was Kate Bush on cassette, I guess she was the first influence on my musical taste.. not a bad place to start! I came across the Rock Gods by accident when I was about 11/12; finding an abandoned cassette in my step fathers work van.. it was a compilation album with Sabbath, Maiden, Guns n'Roses, Bon Jovi etc.. and that was when the head banging wild child Viixen was born!

I loved the freedom the music ignited in my soul! In my early teens it was Bon Jovi, Thunder, Whitesnake etc, I loved the epic guitar solos!

And of course the pretty long haired dudes in those hormonal years.. still do really hahaha.. as I got older I dabbled with lots of genres including: dance music such as the Prodigy and Faithless; gothic rock such as Mr Manson and Evanescence and indie/Grunge such as Oasis, Cranberries and Alanis Morrisette… I’m not opposed to any music genre if it makes me feel something…however I’ve always returned to my core of Hard Rock and Metal.

I feel that all my tastes influence my writing and performance.

💿 Can you tell us how’d you get in touch with the band?

I presume you mean Thunderstick here.. Barry approached me a while back about the project after seeing some you tube videos of me performing with my other band Black a; but sadly it wasn’t the right timing for both of us which was rather gutting.. however when he approached me a second time late last year, I grabbed the opportunity! Since then we have been in touch everyday talking about rehearsals, songs, stage ideas etc.. it’s an exciting time.

💿 The real “news” in music industry is the return of vinyl; What’s your feeling about this classic format and the current music business?

I grew up listening to vinyl and there is something very special about playing a record. When I was a kid my mum would play ‘War of the Worlds’ on vinyl whilst cleaning and I would sneak a peek at the pictures in the sleeve..so I’m all up for vinyl making a comeback! As for the current music business, there are pluses and minuses..

For example it lays out fantastic opportunities for artists and music lovers! When I say Hard Rock and Metal hadn’t hit my home town when I was a kid, I meant that if an album wasn’t in Woolworths or on the very few radio stations available through manual tuning, there was no access to the music, I didn’t even know it existed!

These days we have all music at our fingertips, sometimes there is too much choice and we might miss some treasures hiding away but it’s a wonderful time for music.

The downside is that musicians have to work extra hard to get their music heard; but at least they have the opportunity to get heard; opposed to waiting get signed to release your music under the old system.

Another downside is as a musician it’s difficult to make a living out of just writing and performing these days; downloads are cheaper than CD’s and people tend to listen to the music on you tube instead of buying it.

Great for music lovers but it means that usually (unless you are huge) musicians have to do other work to stay afloat financially which leaves less time to create.

But we find a way!

💿 Playing live or composing new music..What is the side of your “job” that you feel closer to you?

That’s a tough one because I love both. However the reason I write music is to touch people somehow and to help people understand the inner workings of my grey matter.. God help you! Haha.. but we write so that we can perform live and being on stage is where I feel I am most in line with my life’s purpose.. I am free to be myself and bring joy to others at the same time, it’s the best feeling in the world!

💿 Can you give us a few details about setlists of Thunderstick live?

I won’t spill all the details but I can tell you that you will hear some Samson tunes (Bruce Dickinson era), Thunderstick tunes from the 80’s taken from the ‘analogue’ album and some recent Thunderstick material taken from the new album ‘Something wicked this way comes’. Also keep your eyes on the Thunderstick Facebook page and my Viixen Facebook page for some clues.

You will get a hell of an experience at one of our shows, we are excited to perform for you!

💿 Thank you so much for your time! See you soon on Hardrockheavymetal !

Thanks for letting me waffle, take care and see ya soon.

Love,

Viixen xx (Thanks DARREN JOHNSON)

#nwobhm #samson #thunderstick